No...it's not a star. It fools us all as we look into the inky blackness of night as it shines in brilliant glory. It looks like a huge star...glistening...shining....
but it isn't.
It's Venus. The planet named after the goddess of love.
I've always loved it so. . .
It draws my attention each evening, and as the night-owl that I am, I worship it's beauty and find inner peace in its steady light. Sometimes, even on a cloudy night, I can still see it peeking through the dense cloud cover. It speaks to me.
It tells me to remember who I am.
We've been enjoying a brilliant, although cold, winter. Vivid stars, brilliant moons, and always, always, there is Venus. I've seen her there next to Mars...her lover. I've watched her flirt with Orion in his diamond encrusted belt. I've witnessed the conversations between the big and little dipper, and Cassiopeia. And...I've watched her embrace all the gazillions of other stars who are no less important, but whose names I have not yet learned.
I discovered that while I was raised by people who discussed stars and planets and prominent constellations and families of star children, that the night sky is not always common knowledge. My sweet husband was raised by morning lovers. As such, he wasn't familiar with the night sky in the same way I was. I took the knowledge for granted that I was friends with the stars and planets. My surprise at his blind gaze was one of wonderment, for no one appreciates the beauty of the night sky like my husband. His appreciation did not gather, like a map, the patterns of the stars...the locations and changing patterns of the seasons. What he saw was patternless...or at least....un-named.
We walk for miles every night after tucking our kiddos in bed, safely supervised by a competent and wizened elder brother. Cells phones tucked away in pockets in case of emergency, we romp like people of a younger age...a younger time. The miles melt away under introspection, contemplation, and...listening. Listening to each other, to the earth, and to the sky. Listening to the signs and feelings and subtle understandings which manifest our reality.
We walk alone under the stars, seeing the blue flickering lights in the valley below of our "fellow Americans" who, instead of witnessing the beauty of nature in it's midnight glory, are watching the news, Jay Lenno, and the snarky tales of "reality television". We walk alone. The deer and elk, munching peacefully, acknowledge us without fright; even as our big lumbering sheepdog romps nearby. He doesn't chase them or bark...he is witnessing as well.
Did you know...that there is a magic in the night? Did you know that the planets and stars can speak to you?
If you care to listen....
Did you know...that in the heat of love, the snow under your feet fails to freeze your body?
Did you know...that creation amidst creation turns into a swirl of color and sound that overwhelms the universe with passion and hope?
Did you know...that under the watch of Venus's brilliant light....one can discover what it means to be truly human?
An incubation has begun. A mixture of shooting stars, planetary light, and midnight flame.
The stars, in patterns of constellational beauty. The moon, in devotion to the yin and yang of light and dark cycles. The planets in their union with the sun's gravitational pull.
When we admire the creations all around us...it doesn't matter who or what or how it was made...it just IS...and we are witnessing it all.
In creation.
We are calling 2011 the year of emerging light. As the shadows fade, we hope illumination will shine on our paths just as the lunar eclipse of winter solstice brought a brilliance to the moon after it lay in amber shadow...2011 has much to offer.
I await gratefully. Thank you Venus.
What a beautiful post. I hope that 2011 brings with it many, many good things for you and your family. x
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